Book-binding machine



Sept. 14, 1954 Filed Nov. 29, 1948 J. L. c. MERCER ET AL 2,688,913

BOOK-BINDING MACHINE 7 SheetS -Sheet 1 wentorf torneys Sept. 14, 1954 J. L. c. MERCER ET AL 2,688,913

BOOK-BINDING MACHINE Filed Nov. 29, 1948 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 (I By Mm tlorneyS P 1954 J. L. c. MERCER ET AL 2,688,913

BOOK-BINDING MACHINE Filed Nov. 29, 1948 7 SheetsSheet 3 Sept. 14, 1954 J. L. c. MERCER ET AL BOOK-BINDING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Nov. 29, 1948 all I Sept. 14, 1954 J. L. c. MERCER ET AL BOOK-BINDING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov. 29, 1948 'IIIII a om 0% mm y} a a Sept. 14, 1954 J. c. MERCER ET AL 2,688,913

BOOK-BINDING MACHINE Filed Nov. 29, -1948 '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 FIGS.

Attorneys Sept. 14, 1954 J. L. c. MERCER ETAL 2,588,913

BOOK-BINDING MACHINE Filed Nov. 29, 1948 sheets-sheet 7 L Wfm prneyJ Patented Sept. 14, 1954 John C. Mercer and Albert John Heath, London, England, assignors to James Burn & Co. Limited, London, .England Application November 29, 1948, Serial No. 62,504

Claims priority, application Great Britain December .5, 19.47

(Cl. IOU-207) 7 Claims. 1

This invention relates to .bookbinding.

When the sections of a book have been sewn and are stacked ready for binding, the thickness of the package is greater than that which is generally desirable in the bound book and is, moreover, greater at the spine edge than at the fore edge. In order to remove the swell 'at the spine edge and to reduce the overall thickness of the package, the package is usually compressed or nipped before it is bound. The nipping is usually efiected in a press having a continuously vertically reciprocated head benea'th which the packages are fed by hand.

.In order to be efiective, the nipping must expel the air from between the sheets. Care has to be taken to see that no air is trapped between the sheets during the nipping as such trapped air can lead to creasing or even bursting of the sheets. The operator ensures this by presenting the package to the press with the spine edges .foremost so that about half the package isnipped and then, on the .next stroke of the press, turning the package round so that the other half is nipped. 'If necessary, he finally puts the whole package into the press for .afinal overall nipping.

As the package is initially thicker at the spine edge than at the .fore edge, there is a tendency, when the nipping pressure is applied, for the sheets to slide laterally on each other. This tendency hasto be counteracted by the operator who does so by gripping the fore edge of the package strongly between his fingers. This is a diificu'lt and tiring-operation, particularly when working with highlyglazed paper. The work is also dangerous as any carelessness may well result in the operators fingers being crushed.

It is usual for two operators to work from opposite sides of one and the same press and a reasonable output vfrom the press is about eight packages .per minute.

A press with a semi-automatic feed is sometimes used. In this machine, a short belt con veyor is arranged with its upper run just above the .bed .of the press. The conveyor is fed -'by .hand and is driven intermittently in synchronism with the reciprocation of the press so as to convey the packages under the head of the press and to remove them to a discharge point after they have been nipped. The nipping is efiected atasingle strokeof the press and, in order that vmay be done, the operator has to break each package-before it "'is ted to the press. This breaking consists in sharply bending the package about :a line extending across the book from '55 spine to fore "edge and is an operation which requires a considerable 'efiort'irom the-operator. The machine in accordance with the invention is designed to reduce to a minimum the labour involved in nipping packages and to eliminate the necessity for skilled labour altogether.

It comprises .an intermittently driven conveyor on which the packages are conveyed between "horizontally adjustable, vertical "guides to and through two successive nipping stations at "each of which a pair of jaws is arranged LSO as to nip the books on the conveyor laterally between them.

The use of the machine invlovesa new :method ofnipping as the packages to be nipped are .con-

veyed on edge step-by-step to the two nipping stations.

The packages are preferably nipped in the region of the spine at the first nation and. in the region of the fore-edge at the second station. In order to simulate the manual operation, the 'books are preferably subjected {to a "lateral pressure lighter than the nipping pressure "in the region of the fore edge immediately before .and. during application of the nipping pressure "at the spine edge at the first station and vice-wersa at the second stage.

It is essential that the packages be fed through the machine in accurately controlled steps. If the steps through which the packages are advanced through the machine are as little as one hundredth of an inch too long, the cumulative error "when say 1000 packages (much less than an hours work), have been passed through would be 10 inches and the packages would, therefore not arrive accurately at the "nipping stations.

The machine in accordance with the invention has means for rectifying any error in the length of a step of the conveyor. These means are of a simple nature and, in "the preferred form, of the machine, consist of 'a toothed segment or the equivalent which is'broughtinto engagement with a toothed wheel forming part of the driving mechanism {of "the conveyor. The segment is brought into engagement :after the wheel has been disconnected from the drive so that "the wheel is accurately positioned.

An example of a machine in accordance with the invention "will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

"Fig. 1 is a front elevation of'th'e machine with certain parts shown broken .away for the sake of 'clea-rness. v

Fig. 2 is a plan "of the machine.

' The latter is not shown in detail.

any desired kind but is preferably of the well- Figs. 3 and 4 are sections to a larger scale taken respectively on the lines IIIIII and IV-IV in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a section to a larger scale taken on the line VV in Fi 2.

Figs.'6 and '7 are sections taken respectively on the lines VIVI' and VII-VII in Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a section to a larger scale taken on the line VIII-VIII in Fig. 1.

Figs. 9 and 10 are respectively an elevation and a plan of a detail.

Fig. 11 is a section taken on line XII-XI in Fig. 10.

Fig. 12 is an enlarged elevation of part of Fig. 1.

The nipping machine shown in the drawings comprises a conveyor I0 which is intermittently actuated so as to convey the packages to be nipped to and through two nipping stations I2 and I4. The conveyor comprises a chain I6 passing round a pair of sprockets I8, I9 at each end of the machine. To the links of the chain are attached plates 20 which provide the carrying surface for the packages. At intervals, the conveyor is provided with brackets 22 which carry pushers as will be particularly described later on. The conveyor I0 is supported between the sprocket I8, I9, by a plate 24.

The sprocket I8 is the driving sprocket, the

sprocket I9 is an idler. The sprocket I8 is connected by a unidirectional clutch or free-wheel device 26 to a connecting rod 21 which is adjustably attached by a pin-and-slot connection 28 to a lever 30 mounted to rock on a fixed pivot 32. The lever 30 has a counterweight 33 and a spring 34 which tend to keep a roller'35 carried by it pressed against a cam 36 on a shaft 38. R0- tation of the cam 36 causes the lever'30 to be oscillated and the sprocket I8 to be intermittently driven through the one-way clutch 26. It can be of known wedging ball type.

The packages to be conveyed through the machine are placed by hand on their spine edge on the conveyor at the loading station 40 as shown in chain lines in Fig. 3. The loading station is bounded laterally by a pair of guide plates 42, 44. The rear guide plate 42 is adjustable in accordance with the thickness of the package to be nipped. For this purpose it is carried by a pair of racks 46 supported in U-brackets 48 and meshing with pinions 50. The two pinions are fixed to a shaft 52 mounted in the brackets 48 and provided with a handwheel 54 (Fig. 2).

Rotation of the hand wheel causes the wall 42 to be moved towards and away from the wall 44. A scale 56 is provided to enable the separation of the walls to be adjusted accurately. One leg of each bracket 48 is split and is provided with a clamping screw 51 by means of which the wall 42 can be locked in any adjusted position.

The wall 44 is pivotally mounted at 58 so that it can be swung away to widen the mouth of the loading station. It is connected by a link 60 to j a lever 62 pivotally mounted at 64 and bearing against a cam 66 carried by the connecting rod 21. The wall 44 also has a rod 68 attached to it which can slide in a hole I0 in a bracket 12.

The rod has a spring I5 on it which lies between I the bracket I2 and a collar 16 on the rod and serves to keep the wall 44 swung towards the wall 42.

When the connecting rod 21 is making its idle stroke the cam 66 is brought into contact with the lever 62 so that the wall 44 is swung outwards against the action of the spring 68. A package can then be dropped on to the'conveyor so as to be ready to be conveyed through the machine when the conveyor is next actuated. During the early part of the movement of the conveyor, the lever 62 is carried away from the cam 66 and the package is gripped lightly by the walls 42, 44.

In case the conveyor should move a package forward while the front wall 44 at the loading station is swung outwards a guide surface I8 is provided to ensure that the package is not held back.

The conveyor moves the packages step-by-step towards the first nipping station I2. There, a pair of jaws 80, 82 is provided. The two jaws are alike in that they each comprise a backing plate 84 which is stepped at 86 and carries a yieldingly mounted plate 88. The plate is mounted on pins 90 (Fig. 6) and is pressed away from the plate 84 by springs 92. When there is no package between the jaws, the plates 88 project slightly inwards from the plates 84 as indicated at 88' in Fig. 6. Similar parts on the respective opposite jaws are given the same numbers but followed by the letter I).

The front jaw 82 is fixed; the rear jaw 80 is mounted for reciprocation towards and way from the front jaw. For that purpose, the jaw 80 is connected by a link 93 to a connecting rod 94 (Fig. 4) driven by an eccentric 96 and pivotally connected by a link 98 to the frame I00, the links 93 and 98 thus forming a toggle.

When a package P is within the jaws at the nipping station I2 and the jaw 60 is moved towards the jaw 82, it is first gripped relatively lightly by the plates 88. This grip is equivalent to that which the operator applies by hand to the fore edge of the package as described earlier to hold the sheets against slipping during the nipping operation. The nipping is effected. at the station I2 by the subsequent movement of the jaw 80 which causes the package P to be strongly gripped by the plates 84 in the region I89. The jaws are stepped at I81 oppositely to the jaws at the first station. The plates I89 are mounted on pins I9I and are pressed inwards by springs I93.

The rear jaw I02 is mounted for reciprocation in exactly the same manner as the jaw 80. Similar reference numerals have been used in-the drawings to indicate the parts of its driving mechanism.

It will be seen from Fig. 7 that when the jaw I02 is brought towards the jaw I04, the package P is first gripped lightly near the spine by the spring pressed plates I89 which project inwards from the plates I as indicated at I89 and the remainder of the package is then nipped strongly by the plates I85.

This completes the nipping. When the jaw I02 is moved back again, the conveyor conveys the completely nipped package out of the second nipping station I4 and to a discharging station I06 (see particularly Fig. 8).

At the discharging station, the nipped .pac

ages are supported between two guide rails I61, I 88. The rear rail I01 is carried by a pair of arms I69 (only one is shown) depending from a shaft I I 6' carried by the frame of the machine. The front rail I08 is carried by a pair of short links III pivotally mounted on arms II2 depending from the shaft I I0. also provided which is pivotally carried by a link I I4 fixed to the shaft II 0. The ejector is also pivotally connected by a link II5 to a shaft II6 Which is fixed to the rear jaw I62 at the second nipping station.

It will be seen that the ejector is oscillated by and in synchronism with the rear jaw I62. When it is rocked forward, its lower end H1 is pressed against the package P at the discharge station below the level of the rear guide rail I61. The

package is thus tilted as shown at P in Fig. 8

and slides down a chute IIB the front guide rail I 88 givin away as indicated at I08 in Fig. 8. On the return movement of the jaw, the ejector resumes its original position with the assistance of a spring H8. The front rail I68 falls back into its original position under its own weight, a stop (not shown) being provided to arrest the return motion in the position shown at I08 in Fig. 8.

Between the two nipping stations, a pair of guide walls I22, I24 is provided. The front wall 52 is fixed. The rear wall I22 is adjustable towards and away from the front wall in accordance with the thickness of the package being nipped by means similar to those provided for adjustment of the rear wall at the loading station 48. Similar reference numerals have been used in the drawings to indicate the parts of the adjusting means.

It is very important that the packages should I be advanced by the conveyor in steps of exactly the right magnitude. This involves ensuring that the packages cannot slip on the conveyor and also ensuring that the conveyor itself makes steps of exactly the right magnitude. The pushers 22 preclude slip on the conveyor.

To ensure that the conveyor makes steps of the correct magnitude a positioning device I26 is provided (Figs. 1 12 and 3). This device consists of a length of chain I28 exactly similar to the conveyor chain I6 and, therefore, fitting the teeth of the sprocket I8. The chain I28 is carried by a sector I36 pivotally mounted on a pin I 32 carried by an arm I34. The arm I34 is free to turn on a fixed pin I36 as is an arm I38. The sector 568 is connected by a link I40 and an adjusting screw I42 to a lug I44 on the arm I38. The arm I68 has connected to it a link I46 carrying a roller its at its far end which bears against a cam I56 on the shaft 88 (Fig. 1). The link I 46 is supported by a part I52 of the frame of the machine and the roller I48 is kept in contact with the cam I56 by a spring I54.

When the sprocket I8 is being driven, the roller I48 bears against the high part of the cam I50 and the chain I28 is held out of engagement with the sprocket as shown in chain dotted lines in Fig. 12. When, however, at the end of a driving stroke (position shown in Fig. 1), the movement of the connecting rod 21 is reversed and the sprocket is disconnected from the drive, the cam I 5!! lies in a position in which the roller I48 bears on its low part and the chain I28 is brought into engagement with the sprocket as shown in Figs. 1 and 12. The position of the chain is positively determined and therefore, the sprocket positions itself accordingly. The length of the stroke of An ejector H3 is,

6 the conveyor is thus adjusted and; it is thus ensured that any slight inaccuracy in the setting of the conveyor driving mechanism will not result in a cumulative errorwhich would in time cause the packages to come to rest otherwise than within the jaws at the nipping stations.

A toothed sector could, of course, be used instead of the chain I28.

As has been described, the separation of the guide walls at the loading station and between the two nipping stations is adjustable in accordance with the thickness of the package to be nipped. The separation of the jaws at the nipping stations must be similarly adjustable. To this end, the toggle links 93' (Figs. 2 and 4) connecting the movable jaws to their connecting rods 94 are each made up of two parts I56, I51 which are screw-threaded by right and the other left-handed and are connected by a correspondingly screw-threaded union I58. Adjustment of the length of the links 93 makes no material diiference to the length of the stroke imparted to the jaws connected to them but varies the initial and final separation of the jaws'in each pair.

To prevent movement of the packages relatively to the conveyor, pushers I66 one of which is shown separately in Figs. 9 and 10 are carried by the brackets 22. These pushers are of automatically adjustable width in accordance with the separation of the guide walls and the nipping aws.

Where very thin packages are being nipped, the brackets 22 can serve as pushers by themselves, their width and setting on the plates I0 of the conveyor being suited to the minimum separation of the guide walls of the jaws. For thicker packages, the pushers I66 are mounted on the brackets. Each pusher comprises a supporting plate I62 having a dovetailed slot I64 in which a dovetail I66 on the brackets 22 can be engaged. The plate I62 supports two pusher plates I68, I69 which are mounted on pivots I16. The pusher plates are urged outwards by springs I12.

The pusher plate I 68 is on the front side of the machine, that is to say, on the side of the fixed guide plates and the fixed jaws. Its spring I12 keeps it pressed against a pin I14 on the supporting plate I62 so that it is just clear of the fixed guide plates and the fixed jaws. The pusher plate I 69 is pressed by its spring I12a against the adjustable guide plates and the adjustable jaws, there being no stop corresponding to the pin I 14. Two different settings of the pusher plate I69 are shown in full and chain lines in Fig. 9 correspending to two diiferent settings of the jaw 86.

With this arrangement, the pusher plates I68, I69 adjust themselves to the separation of the parts between which they lie and ensure that the package will be urged forward with the conveyor whatever the width of the package may be. As shown in Fig. 11, the pusher assembly I66 is held positively in position on the bracket 22 by a headed pin I16. The shank of the pin fits in a hole I18 (Fig. 9) in the supporting plate I62 and its head fits in a recess I in the bracket 22. The pin is keptin position by a spring I82. To mount a pusher assembly I60 on the bracket, the spring I82 is pulled back as shown in chain lines in Fig. 11, the pin I16 is pushed back so that it does not project in front of the bracket and the assembly is engaged on the dovetail I64. When the assembly is in position on the bracket,

automatic. task is simplyto load the packages on to the :7 release of the spring I82 causes the pin I16 to be pressed forward and to engage in the hole 118. The conveyor is driven and the movable jaws are reciprocated by a motor 184 (Figs. 1 and 4) ,connectedby a V-belt drive I89 to a shaft I88.

The shaft I88 is connected by reduction gearing 199 to a shaft I92 which drives the eccentric 99 plates I96 connected together by distance pieces 198 are provided at each nipping station and provide the necessary reaction abutment.

1 It will be seen that the machine is almost fully It needs only one attendant whose conveyor at the loadin station. An output of 18-20 nipped packages per minute can easily be achieved.

We claim: v

1. A book nipping machine, comprising an intermittently driven conveyor means on which packages having a spine edge and a fore-edge are conveyed edgewise; a first and a second pair of nipping jaws, said means intermittently conveying the packages to and throughsaid respective pairs of jaws, said first jaws having rigid spinenipping portions and having relatively flat resiliently urged package gripping portions thereadjacent extending to the fore edge of the pack age, the latter portions applying light pressure to the package while the former portions apply heavy pressure thereto and said second jaws being formed similar to said first jaws but reversed with respect thereto so as to apply a lighter pressure near the spine edge and a heavier pressure near the fore-edge.

2. In a nippingmachine according to claim 1,

(said resiliently urged gripping portions normally extending inwardly toward each other beyond said nipping portions so that the lighter pressure in each operation is applied to the package before the heavier pressure, and is maintained while the heavier pressure is applied.

3. In a nipping machine as set forth in claim 1, said jaws having horizontal recesses in their opposed faces; a gripping portion set into each recess; and spring means for yieldably urging said portions inwardly toward each other, the spring-urged portions applying said lighter pressure against the package as the jaws close thereon.

l. In a nipping machine as set forth in claim 1,

. ejector means synchronized with the intermitof jaws.

5. In a nipping machine as set forth in claim 1,

guide walls along the conveyor, means for adjusting the spacing between the guide walls, and

.pushers attached at intervals to said conveyor.

for preventing movement of the packages relatively to the conveyor, said pushers each comprising a pair of plates yieldably urged outwardly toward the guide walls so as to adjust themselves to the spacing between the guide walls.

6. A machine of the character described comprising a conveyor for packages to be nipped; means for driving said conveyor intermittently; two pairs of spaced nipping jaws arranged so that packages on said conveyor are conveyed between and past them; means for operating said jaws to nip said packages, said pairs of jaws being timed for actuation so that the packages are nipped by the jaws during pauses in the movement of said conveyor; and pushers attached at intervals .to said conveyor and comprising laterally adjustable members.

7. A machine of the character described comprising a conveyor for packages to be nipped; means for driving said conveyor intermittently; two spaced pairs of nipping jaws arranged so that packages on said conveyor are conveyed between and past them; means for operating said jaws to nip said packages, the jaws being timed for'actuation so that the packages are nipped by the jaws durin pauses in the movement of said conveyor; guide walls arranged laterally opposite each other on the feed side of said pairs of jaws; means for adjusting the separation between the guide walls; and pushers attached at intervals to said conveyor for preventing movement of the packages relatively to the conveyor, said pushers comprising a pair of plates yieldably urged outwardly toward the guide walls so as to adjust themselves to the separation of the guide walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Oct. 15, 1931 

